Labour fury as NHS trusts deficit soars to almost £1bn - double amount planned
2 min read
Labour has blasted the Government after it emerged the deficit among NHS trusts in England was double the amount predicted.
Trusts were an eye-watering £960m in the red at the end of 2017/18 - despite expectations the figure would be £496m, regulator NHS Improvement revealed.
It said acute hospitals were the primary drivers of the overspend due mainly to increased patient demand, while all other providers, including ambulance and mental health trusts, had collectively underspent.
Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth fumed: “Eight years of relentless Tory austerity has left our NHS in a complete financial mess...
“Thanks to the Tories, the NHS is now in a year-round crisis with cancelled operations, ever more vicious privatisation, rationing of treatments, bed reductions and a shortfall of 100,000 staff - highlighting the critical urgency of action needed.”
He added: “This is a totally unsustainable situation which cannot be allowed to continue.”
Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Theresa May and Philip Hammond cannot allow this financial knife-edge to continue.
"Whether the Chancellor announces the extra funding in time for the NHS anniversary this summer or waits until the autumn Budget, it must be both substantial and genuinely new money."
NHS Improvement said 156 of the 234 trusts did manage to reach or exceed their financial targets over the course of the year.
Chief executive Ian Dalton said: "Despite epic challenges, NHS staff up and down the country displayed incredible resilience and saw more patients than ever before within four hours.
"More than two-thirds of providers ended the year on budget or better than planned. Given rising demand and record vacancies, this is an important achievement."
Theresa May has hinted that the NHS could be in line for a cash boost to coincide with its 70th birthday this year - although ministers are said to be at odds over how much the sum will be.
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